Course Descriptions - Anthropology (ANTH)

A. THE CORE CURRICULUM

1. Introduction to Physical Anthropology (3)
This course examines the biological basis of being human. It
compares us with our primate relatives, traces the evolution of our
species from 4 million-year-old australopithecines, and accounts
for the great anatomical and biochemical diversity among modern
human populations. (CAN ANTH 2)

2. Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3)
Prerequisite: G.E. Foundation A2. Examines the nature of
culture, humanity's unique mechanism for adapting to the changing
environment. Explores the varieties of human life and explains how
culture has made possible the range of different and successful
societies, from hunters and gatherers to industrial civilization.
G.E. Breadth D3. (CAN ANTH 4)

3. Introduction to Prehistory and Physical Anthropology (3)
Prerequisite: G.E. Foundation A2. Examines the biological
and cultural basis of being human. Compares us with our primate
relatives, traces the biological and cultural evolution of our
species from earliest ancestors, through the development of
agriculture to the emergence of civilization. G.E. Breadth D3.

100. Concepts and Applications (3)
This foundation course demonstrates the use of selected core
concepts within the context of a defined research project which the
students carry out during the semester. Acquaints students with the
conceptual framework of the discipline and the basic processes of
anthropological inquiry.

101A. Introductory Fieldwork in Archaeology (6)
An introduction to basic methods and strategies for
archeological excavation and site survey. Involves a commitment by
students of a block of time in the field away from campus. Not open
to students who have taken 101A-S. Course fee, $75.

101A-S. Introductory Fieldwork in Archaeology (6)
An introduction to basic methods and strategies for
archaeological excavation and site survey in a public service
context. Involves a commitment by students of a block of time in
the field away from campus. Not open to students who have taken
101A.

101B. Advanced Fieldwork in Archaeology (6)
Advanced methods and strategies for archaeological
excavation and site survey. Involves a commitment by students of a
block of time in the field away from campus. Not open to students
who have taken 101B-S.

101B-S. Advanced Fieldwork in Archaeology (6)
Advanced methods and strategies for archeological excavation
and site survey in a public service context. Involves a commitment
by students of a block of time in the field away from campus. Not
open to students who have taken 101B.

104. History and Theory of Anthropology (3)
Prerequisite: ANTH 100. A history of the growth of
anthropological thought through an analysis of the informational
and explanatory powers of five major theoretical schools:
Nineteenth-century Evolutionists, British Functionalists, Boasian
Historical Particularists, Neo-Evolutionists/Marxists, and
Cognitivists.

111A. Introduction to Ethnographic Fieldwork (3)
An introduction to methods of ethnographic field methods,
including participant observation, interviewing, and the use of
audiovisual media. Topics include the ethics of fieldwork,
organizing data, and ethnographic writing. Students will conduct
short fieldwork assignments on cultural and linguistic topics in
the local area. (Formerly ANTH 101)

111B. Intermediate Ethnographic Fieldwork (3)
Prerequisite ANTH 111A. Students conduct an enthnographic
field project under the direction of the instructor, employing
methods such as participant observation, interviewing, and
audiovisual media. The course involves field trips and may include
weekend sessions. Not open to students who have taken 111B-S.

111B-S. Intermediate Ethnographic Fieldwork (3)
Prerequisite ANTH 111A. Students conduct an enthnographic
field project under the direction of the instructor, employing
methods such as participant observation, interviews, and
audiovisual media. Involves field trips and may include weekend
sessions. Not open to students who have taken 111B.

111C. Advanced Ethnographic Fieldwork (3)
Prerequisite ANTH 111B. Students continue work on an
ethnographic field project begun in ANTH 111B. Under the direction
of the instructor, students employ methods such as participant
observation, interviewing, and audiovisual media. Students produce
a substantial written review combining secondary sources with their
own data.

111C-S. Advanced Ethnographic Fieldwork (3)
Prerequisite ANTH 111B or 111B-S. Students continue work on
an ethnographic field project begun in ANTH 111B or 111B-S,
employing various research methods. Students produce a substantial
final paper with a focus on public service applications of their
findings.

195. Colloquium (1)
Each spring semester students and department faculty will
meet three times to discuss current problems in the field of
anthropology. These three hour seminars will be led by a faculty
member. Students will be expected to do all assigned readings and
complete a paper on one of the topics discussed.

102. Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (3)
A compendium of current thinking on language and culture
from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives. Examines the
nature of language, language description, language and worldview,
gendered speech, ethnicity and language, power and performance,
verbal and nonverbal art, and associated theories and research
methods.

105W. Applied Anthropology (3)
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: G.E. Foundation and Breadth Area
D, satisfactory completion (C or better) of ENGL 1 graduation
requirement, to be taken no sooner than the term in which 60 units
are completed. Examination and assessment of the use of
anthropological data and concepts to address contemporary issues in
education, health care, law, environmental planning, and social
services. Students work on applied problems and write observations,
plans, reports, and research documents geared to the needs of
professionals, service providers, and particularly planners in
modern institutional contexts. Meets the upper-division writing
skills requirement for graduation. G.E. Multicultural/International
MI.

111B-S. Intermediate Ethnographic Fieldwork (3)
Prerequisite: ANTH 111A. Students conduct a public service
ethnographic field project under the direction of the instructor,
employing methods such as participant observation, interviewing,
and audiovisual media. Involves field trips and may include weekend
sessions.

111C-S. Advanced Ethnographic Fieldwork (3)
Prerequisite: ANTH 111B or 111B-S. Involves continued work
on ethnographic field project begun in ANTH 111B or 111B-S,
employing various research methods. Includes producing a
substantial final paper with a focus on public service applications
of their findings.

115. World Cultures (3)
An examination of contemporary issues in anthropology based
on evidence from both classical and modern ethnographies. Considers
strategies of qualitative research and reporting, including ethics
and the application of enthographic research in modern
societies.

116W. Anthropology of Religion (3)
Prerequisites: G.E. Foundation and Breadth Area D,
satisfactory completion (C or better) of the ENGL 1 graduation
requirement, to be taken no sooner than the term in which 60 units
are completed. Examines the patterned belief systems of the world's
tribal, peasant, and sectarian societies. Stresses the role of
religion in individual and group perception, cognition, ritual, and
social organization. Topics include myth, magic, shamanism,
mysticism, witchcraft, trance, hallucinogens, and cultism. Meets
the upper-division writing skills requirement for graduation. G.E.
Integration ID.

117. Folk Medicine (3)
A cross-cultural examination of health practices and of the
cultural assumptions and attitudes on which they are based. Reviews
ethnomedicine, ethnopsychiatry, and epidemiology in the health care
systems of non-Westerners and of ethnic communities in pluralistic
America.

118. Women: Culture and Biology (3)
(Same as WS 170.) A cross-cultural and interdisciplinary
analysis of the determinants of female statuses and circumstances.
Examines theories, including biological and cultural determinism,
which explain variations in the expression of sexuality,
maturation, reproduction, and the life cycle.

119. Law and Culture (3)
A comparative, holistic perspective on the evolution of law.
Examines its natures and origins, the basic assumptions behind
legal systems, their cross-cultural expression and effects, and the
directionality of legal evolution.

120. Ethnic Relations and Cultures (3)
Prerequisites: G.E. Foundation and Breadth Area D. The
cultural and social origins of ethnicity, and its opportunities and
problems for contemporary mass societies. Offers a critical review
of major theories on ethnic politics, economics, and ideology in
the light of cross-cultural evidence. G.E.
Multicultural/International MI.

123. Peoples and Cultures of Southeast Asia (3)
Prerequisites: G.E. Foundation and Breadth Area D.An
introductory survey of the cultural and historical adaptations of
societies in Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam; and of
Insular societies in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
Examines the major effects of culture contact between East and
West. G.E. Multicultural/International MI.

124. Peoples and Cultures of East Asia (3)
Examines cultural pluralism. Considers cultural adaptations
and change among minorities such as Moslems, Tibetans, and
Mongolians in China, and ethnic groups of Japan and Korea. Outlines
kinship, religion, organization, and technological factors in the
Asiatic culture complex.

125. Tradition and Change in China and Japan (3)
(Same as HUM 140.) Prerequisites: G.E. Foundation and
Breadth Area D. Examines the current aspirations and problems of
the Chinese and Japanese in terms of their traditional cultures,
and explains how their histories, values, world views, and
intellectual traditions affect their lifestyles and their
international relations today. G.E. Multicultural/International
MI.

126. Cultures and Foods of East Asia (3)
(Same as ASAM 151.) Treats cuisine as a systematic product
of the interaction between culture and ecology. Focuses on
sociocultural rather than bio-nutritional factors in the
preparation and ritual implications of food in Mainland and Insular
Asia. Students learn to prepare and serve a variety of Oriental
dishes.

130. Peoples and Cultures of the Southwest (3)
A survey of Native American cultures of the Southwestern
United States and Northwestern Mexico from their prehistoric
origins to the present. Emphasis is placed on cultural continuity
and change during the past 400 years of contact with western
culture.

134. Modern Africa (3)
(See HIST 157.)

138T. Topics in Cultural Anthropology (1-6; max total 12 if no
topic repeated)
Prerequisite: varies with title. Special studies in the
theory and practice of organized cooperation and conflict in nature
and culture.

C. ARCHAEOLOGY CURRICULUM

101A-S. Introductory Fieldwork in Archaeology (6)
Introduces basic methods and strategies for archaeological
excavation and site survey in a public service context. Involves a
commitment by students to a block time in the field away from
campus.

101B-S. Advanced Fieldwork in Archaeology (6)
Advanced methods and strategies for archaelogical excavation
and site survey in a public service context. Involves a commitment
by students to a block of time in the field away from campus.

140. Contemporary Archaeology (3)
Examines archaeological theory (both historical and
contemporary) as well as methods and techniques used by
archaeologists to gather, analyze, and interpret data.

141. Prehistory of North America (3)
Traces the development of Native American cultures from the
Arctic to Mesoamerica, from the peopling of the continent to early
historic times. Examines the archaeological evidence for the
antiquity, spread, and variation of cultural adaptations to
changing ecological conditions.

142. Old World Prehistory (3)
Examination of current knowledge of the prehistory of one
area of the Old World. Chronologies, current findings, and
important issues in theory method are reviewed. Consideration of
these matters in relation to work in archaeology throughout the
world and to work in closely related disciplines such as biology
and geology. Some historic archaeology may also be included. Areas
include Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia.

143. Archaeology and Prehistory of California (3)
Origins and prehistory of the California Native Americans.
Examination of the archaeological record, both statewide and
regionally, with emphasis on adaptations to natural and social
environments from 12,000 B.P. until early historic times.

145. Cultural Resources Management (3)
Prerequisites: G.E. Foundation and Breadth Area D. Provides
an in-depth overview of historic and prehistoric cultural resources
(districts, sites, buildings, and objects), their significance, and
their management in the U.S. Topics include the legal context for
CRM, identifying and evaluating cultural resources, assessing
effects, treatment planning, and careers in CRM. G.E. Integration
ID.

159T. Topics in Archaeology (1-6; max total 12 if no topic
repeated)
Prerequisite: varies with title. Special studies in
archaeological methods, techniques, history and theory, or of
prehistoric culture areas not covered in the regular
curriculum.

D. PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY CURRICULUM

161. Bio/Behavioral Evolution of the Human Species (3)
Prerequisites: G.E. Foundation and Breadth Area B. Examines
the evolution of the human species and its relationship to living
and extinct primates. Explores the biological basis of human
culture. Integrates evolutionary biology, geochronology, and
anthropology in order to understand the bio/behavioral nature of
modern man. G.E. Integration IB.

162. Primates (3)
An introduction to the study of primate biological and
behavioral evolution. Explores sociobiological theory in order to
explain the unity and diversity of social behavior in prosimians,
monkeys, and apes.

163. Human Variation (3)
A cross-cultural examination of variations in human
morphology, physiology, and biochemistry. Establishes the
correlation between variations in human biology and variations in
climate, culture, nutrition, and disease.

164. Human Osteology (3)
Introduces a range of analytic techniques for extracting
information from human skeletal remains: sexing and aging,
osteometry, odontometry, the examination and diagnosis of
epigenetic traits and pathological lesion, and the statistical
interpretation of skeletal data.

169T. Topics in Physical Anthropology (1-6; max total 12 if no
topic repeated)
Special studies of the discovery and interpretation of
information in physical anthropology, and of the application of
this subdiscipline in legal, medical, and scientific research.

193. Internships in Anthropology (1-6; max total 6)
Interns will work on a variety of tasks involving the
analysis and curation of archaeological collections; design and
curation of museum displays; the collection and analysis of
physical anthropological data, including working with primates at
local zoos; and ethnographic data collection. CR/NC grading
only.

194. Honors Thesis (1-3; max total 3)
Development of a student report or paper into a manuscript
of professional and publishable quality. Requires approval by an
Honors Committee of three faculty members.

197T. Current Topics in Anthropology (1-6; max total 12 if no
topic repeated)
Subject matter of these courses combines topics from the
various subfields of anthropology, providing the student with a
more integrated view of the discipline.